LGBT+ News and Discussions

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I think the judge’s reasoning is sound. Unfortunately, I am not sure the Supreme Court will agree. Here is an article on the breadth and scope of it all:

Legislatures Passed 550 Anti-Trans Bills So Far This Year
by Ileana Garnand
June 6 , 2023

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Hundreds of anti-transgender bills proposed in state legislatures are sold as measures to protect minors—such as Idaho’s Vulnerable Child Protection Act and Montana’s Youth Health Protection Act—but advocacy groups and doctors warn that the effect is exactly the opposite. So far this year, legislators in nearly every state have introduced over 550 anti-transgender bills—more than in the past eight years combined. Nearly 30 such bills have been introduced in Congress.

The onslaught includes limits on healthcare access, removing LGBTQ+ materials from schools, and banning trans athletes from sports teams. Seventy-two measures are now law. “Young people are being harmed, regardless of whether bills pass or not,” said Casey Pick, director of law and policy at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support to LGBTQ+ youth.

In a nationwide survey of LGBTQ+ teens and young adults in late 2022, the Trevor Project found that 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth said anti-trans bills negatively impacted their mental health. “It’s a constant debate on my existence and it just makes me exhausted and frustrated that I have to legitimately just live,” one trans individual responded.

Others said they feared for their life, safety, and future.

The survey found other impacts from the legislation, including:

o 45% of transgender respondents experienced online harassment
o 24% were bullied at school
o 42% stopped speaking to a family member

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... his-year/

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Trans Judge Appointed in New York, Makes History
Seth Marin
https://www.advocate.com/transgender/tr ... york-judge
While transgender women have been seated as judges in the United States, the appointment is the first for a trans man.
Christopher Wiggins
June 08 2023 12:06 PM EST

The Democratic governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, announced 15 appointments to the New York State Court of Claims on Wednesday. Among them was a historic selection — the first openly transgender judge in the history of the state and the first trans man in the history of the United States to serve as a judge.

Hochul chose Seth Marin for one of the significant judgeships.

Marin is the director of training and education for affirmative action and equal opportunity programs at Columbia University.

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Biden marks LGBTQ+ Pride Month with celebration on White House South Lawn
Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House for a delayed Pride Month celebration aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.

The event, which the administration described as the largest Pride event hosted at the White House, was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. But the haze that blanketed a huge swath of the East Coast this past week had lifted over the nation’s capital, allowing the president and first lady Jill Biden to hold their South Lawn party.

“So today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You belong,” Biden said.

Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-white- ... 1eea8ac2dc

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Arizona Governor Takes a Stand: Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill, Protects LGBTQ+ Rights
Politics
June 10, 2023
https://www.theviralpink.com/arizona-go ... tq-rights/

Arizona Governor Takes a Stand: Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill, Protects LGBTQ+ Rights – Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has taken a decisive stance against anti-transgender legislation in the state. She recently vetoed Senate Bill 1040, which sought to restrict transgender students in public-funded schools to using facilities based on their assigned gender at birth. Governor Hobbs has vowed to veto any discriminatory bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights that come across her desk, emphasizing her commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals in Arizona.

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Trans women have no advantage in elite sport, new report finds
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/26/ ... ort-finds/

A person holds up a sign that reads "Trans athletes belong in sports" during a demonstration

A person holds up a sign that reads “Trans athletes belong in sports” during a demonstration. (Getty/Michael M Santiago)

A new report has found trans women do not have any advantages over any other women, when competing in elite sport, if existing rules are followed.

Findings from a report, which was commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, clarified that biomedical factors do not pose an advantage, but suggests social factors – like nutrition and training quality – do.

The new report is an in-depth review of all scientific literature published between 2011 and 2021 in English regarding trans women and their participation in elite-level sports.

These studies show there is little evidence to show that factors relating to male puberty – such as lung size and bone density – produce an advantage for trans athletes.

Existing rules regarding trans women in sport most often relate to the suppression of testosterone to certain low levels.

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In contrast to red state anti-LGBTQ push, NV's Republican governor signs 2 trans protection bills

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo recently signed two bills enhancing protections for transgender and gender nonconforming people at a time when Republican-led states have been passing record numbers of anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Lombardo also vetoed a bill that protected providers offering gender-affirming care.

One bill signed Monday prevents insurance companies from discriminating against trans people on the basis of gender identity, while the other measure signed in late May requires prisons to develop regulations to ensure safety of trans and nonbinary people who are incarcerated.

“At a time when states across the country are passing draconian laws to restrict trans and nonbinary people’s right to exist, Nevada is doing the opposite,” Democratic state Sen. Melanie Scheible, who sponsored both bills, said in a statement.

Scheible also credited the policies advancing in Nevada to the work by trans and queer-led organizations like Gender Justice Nevada and Silver State Equality, which have fought for greater protections in past legislative sessions.

https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/06/1 ... ion-bills/

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College Board says it won't alter AP courses to comply with Florida's laws
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/ ... idas-laws/

The College Board released a letter Thursday putting its foot down on further demands from Florida to change any of its Advanced Placement (AP) classes, the latest development in the ongoing feud between the company and the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

“[College Board] will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics,” the company told the Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation.
“Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for careers in the discipline,” it added.

The College Board says the Florida office recently asked it to modify any courses that conflict with the new Florida rule restricting teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom through 12th grade.

In a May 19 letter to College Board, Florida demanded the company do an audit of its courses and relay which ones would need to be modified to comply with the new rule by June 16.

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Judge issues partial injunction on transgender health care ban
By: Whitney Downard - June 16, 2023 4:38 pm

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday afternoon mostly blocking a ban on gender-affirming care for Hoosier youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Without action, the law would have taken effect July 1.

The ruling bars the state from enforcing a prohibition on medical interventions used in transgender health care, such as puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapies. However, U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon upheld the ban on surgical procedures, which previous Statehouse testimony and court filings indicated weren’t occurring on minors in Indiana.

Hanlon, who serves in the Southern District, was nominated by former President Donald Trump.

The injunction applies to all Hoosier children, not just the four transgender youth involved in the lawsuit. More than 900 youth have sought gender-affirming services at the Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, many of whom received puberty blockers or hormonal therapies.

https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/202 ... -care-ban/

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Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors
https://apnews.com/article/politics-ark ... ce=Twitter
By ANDREW DeMILLOJune 20, 2023 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.

U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.

Arkansas’ law, which Moody temporarily blocked in 2021, also would have prohibited doctors from referring patients elsewhere for such care. At least 19 other states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors following Arkansas’ law, and nearly all of them have been challenged in court.

In his order, Moody ruled that the prohibition violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families. He said the law also violated the First Amendment rights of medical providers by prohibiting them from referring minor patients elsewhere for the care.

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Never seen someone so triggered what a snowflake

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Florida medical board approves emergency rule that allows continuing trans care for children and adults
Physicians will be able to renew orders for puberty blockers and hormone therapy so long as no changes are made to prescriptions
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/flor ... s-34462471
By Chloe Greenberg and The News Service of Florida on Wed, Jun 21, 2023 at 11:44 am

The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine on Tuesday approved an emergency rule that will allow transgender children and adults to continue obtaining gender-affirming treatments under certain conditions.

Physicians will be able to renew orders for puberty blockers and hormone therapy so long as no changes are made to the prescriptions.

The state Board of Medicine on June 8 also approved the rule, which will allow continuation of treatment while the medical boards draft other regulations to carry out a new law that makes it harder for trans adults and children to obtain gender-affirming care.

The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, prohibits doctors from ordering treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children but includes an exception for children already using the treatments.

The law also imposes new restrictions on adults seeking gender-affirming care by requiring that such treatment be ordered by physicians, not nurse practitioners.

Medical experts providing gender-affirming care to trans adults estimate that at least 80 percent of prescriptions for treatment such as estrogen and testosterone are ordered by advanced practice registered nurses, not doctors.

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Oregon House passes controversial reproductive rights, ghost gun bills that sparked Senate GOP-led walkout
https://katu.com/news/politics/oregon-h ... ed-walkout
by Christina Giardinelli and KATU StaffWed, June 21st 2023, 3:39 PM PDT
UserWay icon for accessibility widget

SALEM, Ore. — The two controversial bills that helped spur Oregon's longest walkout in history have now passed the House and Senate.

House Bill 2002 would expand the right to abortion and gender-affirming care, and House Bill 2005 looks to ban ghost guns. The bills now head to Governor Tina Kotek for her signature.
It still requires insurance companies to cover gender-affirming care, and also still has protections for providers of abortion.

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The abortion and gender-affirming care bill that nearly torpedoed the Oregon legislative session is headed to Gov. Tina Kotek after a final intense debate on the House floor.

An amended version of House Bill 2002 passed the House on a 35-12 vote Wednesday, with nearly a dozen Republicans opting to stay away from the Capitol to protest the measure. Senate Republicans spent six weeks blocking a Senate vote on the measure before returning to the chamber late last week after extracting concessions from Democrats.

The measure, which Kotek is expected to sign, will protect providers who perform abortions or gender-affirming care from prosecution or civil liability as other states restrict or ban such care. It also would strengthen requirements that health insurers cover reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, including treatments like facial feminization surgery and electrolysis that are now treated as cosmetic procedures.

The measure is the product of a state work group formed last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the national right to abortion. Work group member and Portland Democratic Rep. Travis Nelson said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle that Democrats committed to defend and safeguard the rights Oregonians had before that decision.

“I’m proud to say we fulfilled that commitment and also made sure Oregon is a welcoming and safe state for LGBTQ+ communities by expanding access to lifesaving gender-affirming care,” Nelson said.

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/202 ... lkout.html

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Kenya plots vile anti-homosexuality law to ‘kick LGBT people out of the country completely’

Jun 23

Kenya is among a number of African states reportedly looking to introduce sweeping anti-homosexuality laws, with politician Mohamed Ali saying he wanted to “kick LGBT people out of Kenya completely”.

The draft law, which would punish gay sex with prison or even, in some cases, death, comes just weeks after Uganda passed one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world, which has been described by activists as “vile” and “deadly”.

According to a draft of the Kenyan “family protection bill”, which two lawmakers have backed in parliament, gay sex could be punished by at least 10 years in jail, while “aggravated homosexuality” – which includes gay sex with a minor or disabled person, or when a terminal diseased is passed on sexually – would bring the death penalty, Reuters reported.

New crimes also appear in Kenya’s proposed law, including “promoting” homosexuality, and allowing gay sex on your property, which carries a prison term of at least five years.

The bill is currently being vetted by a parliamentary committee, who may then refer it to the full chamber for a vote.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/23/ ... ws-uganda/